1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording and reproducing apparatus that improves ease of operation in searching for an object image in a large number of images, for example.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, the capacity of a semiconductor memory is increasing more and more and prices thereof are lower and lower. Even portable appliances such as a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) and a digital camera use a large capacity semiconductor memory. Thus, the number of images that can be recorded on a single recording medium continues to incise, and such an interface is demanded that finds an object image in a large number of images recorded on a recording medium with a simple operation for a short time.
Among this kind of interfaces, the most popular is a scheme in which a plurality of thumbnails are collectively displayed and these thumbnails are in turn advanced with a cross key, a jog dial or the like. However, the display area provided on a portable appliance is narrow because the area is proportional to the case size. As the result, when thumbnails are displayed, the total number of thumbnails displayed atone time becomes small, which causes a disadvantage that it is difficult to conduct a file search. In addition, it is necessary to mount a cross key or a jog dial on a portable appliance for operations, which also causes a problem that the case becomes larger correspondingly, or the display area becomes narrower.
As a means for solve the former problem, in recent years, such a scheme is proposed that thumbnails are arranged three-dimensionally to allow a user to easily confirm a large number of thumbnails even in a narrow display area of a small sized portable appliance for facilitating a file search as disclosed in Patent Reference 1 (JP-A-2000-105772).
In addition, in order to solve the latter problem, such a scheme is proposed that a touch panel is mounted to eliminate an input device such as a cross key or a jog dial for improving ease of use in searching for an object image in a large number of images as disclosed in Patent Reference 2 (JP-A-2006-40050),